Barbara Boxer: “I thank the Chair. Areas affected by drought will increase. Look at what is happening in my great State, the worst…”

“I thank the Chair. Areas affected by drought will increase. Look at what is happening in my great State, the worst drought, according to scientists, in 1,200 years. Fires are increasing--same thing--and I am just so disheartened by the fact that we lost a firefighter, a visiting firefighter. Firefighters are fighting those fires right now and putting their lives on the line every single day. Tropical storms, hurricanes--this is all happening--heavy precipitation, flooding events. Houston got 11 inches of rain in 24 hours in 2015. And there is decreasing polar ice, and, in addition, rising sea levels. So I will close with this. The evidence of climate change is here. To say you are not a scientist is no answer. We know you are not a scientist. Politicians as a group are not. But we should listen to the 98, 99 percent of scientists who are telling us our planet is in trouble. Our people are going to be in trouble. As long as I can stand up on my feet in this body, I am going to stand shoulder to shoulder--well, not quite; in my high heels shoulder to shoulder--with my friends because this is a moment in our Nation's history when our kids and grandkids will look back and ask: Why didn't they protect us? Why didn't they save us? As far as I am concerned, it is our duty and our moral responsibility. I thank the Chair, and I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Rhode Island.”